Des Moines stands to be the first city in the country to have a robotic grocery store as part of an experiment to bring healthy food and necessities to a neighborhood that doesn't have enough.
Eat Greater Des Moines, a local nonprofit seeking to enhance collaboration in central Iowa's food scene, plans to approach the city's Plan and Zoning Commission next month to bring the 260-square-foot automated store to the Polk County Health Department parking lot at 19th Street and Carpenter Avenue.
If the commission approves a variance, the touch-screen store should be up and running by August, according to Aubrey Alvarez, who heads Eat Greater Des Moines.
"If people are using and enjoying it, we will leave it there," Alvarez said. "But it can also be relocated if necessary."
The nonprofit is partnering with Polk County and the Des Moines Area Religious Council to bring the vending machine-style unit to the neighborhood. The Greater Des Moines Community Foundation awarded Eat Greater Des Moines a $30,000 prize for the project as part of its Ignite Community Foundation Awards.
The awards challenge local organizations to rethink and reimagine their mission to jump-start new projects.
A variance from the city is needed for the 10-foot-tall unit to be placed in the parking lot, which is close to a number of DART bus stops. Eat Greater Des Moines is seeking more grants to purchase the $250,000 refrigerated unit at a deep discount of about $100,000 from Oasis24seven, the distributor.
The bulletproof unit, which would be protected by security cameras, would accept cash, credit, debit or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards and be able to conduct transactions in English, French or Spanish. Customers would be able to buy up to 200 items, including fresh produce, bread, milk, eggs and toiletries.
Organizers have held focus groups with low-income housing and Salvation Army residents to see what products should be sold, Alvarez said. The Des Moines Area Religious Council also is providing guidance on what to stock. Prices should be similar to those at area grocery stores.
Customers will be able to walk, bike or drive up to the unit. Eat Greater Des Moines plans to install vertical posts known as bollards on the north, west and east sides of the unit to protect the vending machine from vehicles.
Alvarez says it took some time to find the right location for the project, which Oasis24seven wanted to be in a high-traffic, visible area.
Eat Greater Des Moines would eventually like to have a local grocery store chain take over the project if it is successful. "We're really all about building connections, so we don't want to be involved in the ongoing business," Alvarez said.
Zoning commission members and other city leaders have expressed enthusiasm for the experiment, she said.
"I think a lot of people are excited to see it up and running, and to see if it's going to work."